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MORE SPORTS
Dec 15, 2005

NFL focuses on Japan development

After all the years of Japanese players failing to make it to the NFL, it has been decided that now is the time to get serious and make some changes to this sorry showing.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Ruling nixing Koreans' unpaid wages upheld

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday rejected a damages suit over unpaid wages filed by the kin of four deceased South Koreans who were forced to work at a steel mill in northern Japan during the war, upholding a lower court ruling.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Referendum reporting curbs eased

A ruling coalition panel said Wednesday it would refrain in principle from trying to ban media forecasts of the outcome of a possible referendum to revise the Constitution, reversing its earlier position, panel members said.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Brokers pushed to give up Mizuho blunder plunder

Six brokerages, including the Japanese unit of Switzerland's UBS group, have agreed to relinquish the 16.8 billion yen windfall from the settlement of Mizuho Securities Co.'s erroneous sell order for J-Com Co. shares, industry sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Cops turn to forensic analysis to catch gropers

Stumped for years by blatant suspects, police are using forensic analysis to hunt down gropers on crowded trains by matching tiny fabric fibers from the perpetrator's palm with the victim's clothes.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Reactors needed for Kyoto goals, expert says

Japan should promote nuclear power and renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels to fight global warming, a Canadian scientist said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Osaka mayor's reforms may spark new battles

OSAKA -- Osaka Mayor Junichi Seki has unveiled his detailed proposal for reforming the city government.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

New system snags first parolee

A man who disappeared while on probation was found through a new information-sharing system between police and probation officers to find missing parolees, the National Police Agency said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2005

Mideast's democracy dilemma

The surprise showing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's national elections highlights the dilemma faced by democracy advocates in the West. The strong support for fundamentalist Islamic groups throughout the region directly challenges the assumption that free and open elections will lead to governments...
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Mental woes sidelined record 3,559 teachers

A record 3,559 public school teachers took leaves of absence due to mental illness in fiscal 2004, according to a government survey released Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 15, 2005

Iraq has been and will be a U.S. problem

WASHINGTON -- The debate in Washington over policy in Iraq remains contentious and even ugly, but one fact is certain: The United States will remain essentially alone. American policy must reflect the fact that no one is going to help Washington resolve the conflict into which it has blundered.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

It was cut corners or Kimura axed contract: Aneha to Diet

Disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha told a Diet committee Wednesday that Akira Shinozuka, Tokyo branch manager for Kimura Construction Co., specified exactly how much he should reduce the reinforcing steel in the building plans he falsified.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 15, 2005

Director Koki Mitani and the gentle indecision of Japanese juries

When 44-year-old writer/director Koki Mitani was young, he got so excited watching "Twelve Angry Men," a classic American jury-room film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, that he wanted someday to make his own original version.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2005

Panel plans to slash special accounts

The Liberal Democratic Party's administrative reform panel drafted a policy proposal Wednesday to reform special government accounts in a bid to secure some 20 trillion yen to strengthen the state's deficit-ridden finances.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2005

Tokyo store sales rebound on overcoats

Sales at Tokyo department stores in November posted their sharpest rise in five years due to a sharp downturn in temperatures leading to active overcoat sales, an industry body said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

JAXA to delay Hayabusa return as probe enters spin

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will delay until 2010 the return of a star-crossed space probe sent to collect samples from an asteroid after a thruster problem put the probe into an unexpected spin, a JAXA official said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

'Tankan' finds broad improvement in business confidence

Companies turned more optimistic in December amid improved exports and firm domestic consumption, demonstrating that the economy is continuing its gradual upswing, according to the Bank of Japan's "tankan" quarterly business survey released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2005

Corporate bankruptcies rose 4.6% in November

Corporate bankruptcies rose 4.6 percent year on year to 1,114 in November, with debts soaring 86.1 percent to 808.27 billion yen, the highest amount this year, a credit research agency said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 15, 2005

Bridging cultural currents

SEOUL -- It has long been known, though usually not mentioned in public discourse in Japan, that Korea has played a vital role in the transmission of Chinese culture to the country, starting with the introduction of Buddhism in 538. As of Oct. 28, the 60th anniversary of Korea's National Independence...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Dec 15, 2005

Russian rightwingers ride benzene spill

MOSCOW -- The city of Khabarovsk is ill-starred. Founded by hopeful entrepreneurs as a major trade hub in the Russian Far East on the doorstep of China, it turned into a big dump -- a symbol of missed opportunities and disillusionment.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2005

LDP again eyes raising tax on cigarettes in 2006

The Liberal Democratic Party reopened discussions Wednesday on raising the tax on cigarettes after Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki told executives of the LDP's tax panel the government needs the extra revenue to start putting its finances in order next year.
COMMENTARY
Dec 15, 2005

Time for a Yasukuni deal

HONOLULU -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi remains in denial over the negative impact his continued visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine are having on Japanese and U.S. national security interests.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2005

Citigroup to cut stake in Nikko Cordial

Citigroup Inc. will reduce its equity stake in Nikko Cordial Corp. to 4.9 percent from the current 11.3 percent, the two companies announced Wednesday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji